Boarding School
by Sam Pembroke
Summary: Rose is sent to boarding school in New York. Can she get over her separation anxiety?
1. A hard goodbye

Off to Boarding School

Chapter 1:

A hard goodbye

It was the summer of 1907, and Rose; whom had not become fully accustomed to her corset and new clothes; was having difficulty swallowing the fact that she had to go to boarding school in a couple of weeks. "Rose, you'll make all sorts of new friends there. I would imagine some of them are not used to wearing their new underclothes either." Ruth said to Rose in a comforting tone. Ruth knew first hand what it was like to go to boarding school for the first time. She had been thirteen herself once, and remembered how her mother and father tried to comfort her. As the summer progressed, Rose found herself worked up into a state, and it got so bad, that at one point, Ruth had to administer discipline via cane. She hated to do it of course, but it had to be done. Luckily, for Rose the blows didn't leave a mark. By early July, Rose's uniform arrived, as did her stationary and new corsets. Samuel, whom tried his hardest to stay out of Rose's affairs tried to take his daughter's mind off of school by taking her to the park, like what Ruth had done when Rose was a little girl. In the park, Rose met one of her friends, a certain Allison Coburn. Allison, unlike Rose was not corseted and she was a wild child. To Samuel, it didn't matter if the child was tame or wild, they should all play together, and not be separated by class. Rose saw her friend and ran over to her, or at least tried to run, the corset prohibited any of that sort of activity.

"Oh Allison!" said Rose. "Rose! It is so good to see you! I was wondering if you'd ever come back to play with me." Rose and Allison went and sat on a nearby bench. "Allison, I'm going to boarding school in New York in a few weeks. I don't want to go, but I have to. My mother says I have to. My new corset is ripped, I got it for my birthday." Rose said. "Rose, I too have a corset and I'm going to school in New York, maybe we'll see each other there." Allison, whom sat next to Rose had countered. Rose would have rather just heard Allison tell her that she had a corset, but the next thing she knew, Allison had lifted up her dress, and showed Rose the baby pink corset. "How can you run in that?" Rose asked, quizzically. "Easy Rose, I just do it. Mama tells me I can't do it, but I do it anyway." Their conversation would have continued, but the sky had grown dark with clouds, and it threatened rain. "Come on Rose!" Samuel shouted. Just as they entered the gates into their front yard, it poured, something Samuel called a "drown pour" got both of them soaking wet. "Rose?" a voice called out from the front door. It was Ruth. Rose just stood there in the rain, knowing full well that she would get in trouble. The rain had completely soaked through her play dress, and it was making her underclothes itchy. Rose was expecting to be chewed out for this incident, however, Ruth remained calm. Sadie, one of the new maids and Ruth brought Rose up to her room. "Thank you Sadie, I think Rose and I can handle this." Ruth said in a friendly tone. Upon seeing the door close, Ruth turned to her daughter; and asked her "I suppose you had fun with your father?" she asked. "Yes mother I did. I saw Allison Coburn, she is also going to school in New York.

Ruth had removed to sodden dress, and the sodden underclothes as well. "Rose, the one thing that you must remember about corsets, is that you cannot get them too wet, or else they will shrink, and you will not be comfortable." Ruth, whom had removed the corset then noticed the rip, the same exact rip that Samuel had caused when he went on his little "adventure"( he had several more, but this time he moved onto Ruth's corsets) "Rose, do you know where this rip has come from?" Rose looked at the small tear along with her mother. "Rose, it almost looks like this is a stress tear, something must have given those eyelets a considerable strain, almost like a bigger person did this. I know it wasn't your father, because he hates corsets." Ruth put the wet corset onto the trunk to dry. On Rose's clock, the time was 5:30 PM; time for supper. Rose put on a loose dress and went downstairs to the dining room, where dinner was being served by Jesse the cook. That night's supper was roast beef. Rose, whom had spent all afternoon in the park was hungry enough to make a scene at the table by eating too fast, but her mother made sure that she didn't. "Samuel, I understand Allison Coburn was at the park?" Ruth asked over supper. "Yes, yes she was. Why do you ask?" Samuel replied. "I just asked that's all. Rose told me about her little visit with her. I assume Mr. Coburn was nearby?" Ruth had returned. "Why yes he was. We discussed business, and his daughter's behavior of course. Rose, did you notice anything different with Allison?" Samuel had asked. "Yes father, she was a tad bit subdued, she told me that it was her new clothes that have made her that way." Ruth looked at Samuel.

At 8:30, Rose went to bed. Ruth tucked her in and kissed her goodnight. The one thing that Rose could still count on, was going to bed so early. As Rose drifted to sleep, Ruth went back downstairs into the sitting room to sort out Rose's new wardrobe. "She'll be leaving in five days. She may even have to stay there on weekends. I worry about her having to do this, She will know nobody there, except for Allison; or maybe The Langdon's daughter, Emily; but that's about it." Samuel, whom had a glass of whiskey on the rocks, gave more input to Ruth's discussion; "Ruth, I do hope you know that it was your decision to send her. I do however, understand your nervousness. I will miss her too when she is gone." At around 9:45, Ruth retired to bed. As she was undressing for bed, she sat back at her desk, and began to write a letter. This letter, was to be sent to Victoria Langdon, a former school friend of Ruth. The letter asked if Rose would be permitted to stay at her home if going back was not an option. Ruth hoped that the letter would get to Victoria in time. "Sadie, would you please help me with my corset?" Ruth called. Sadie came into the room and helped Ruth unlace the corset. Ruth donned her nightclothes and crawled into bed. Samuel joined her a short time later.

It was four days before she was to depart, and Rose was not allowed to leave the house, the reason for this, was because Ruth was afraid that her new clothes might become torn. She was however, allowed to walk amongst the gardens and pools,in the back of her house. Rose felt a sense of calm when she did this, and as she sat on the wrought iron bench overlooking one of the gardens. Her large hat shielded her head and neck from the sun. "Hello Rose." She heard a voice from behind. It was her father. He motioned if he could sit. Rose let him. " I regret having to inform you, Rose, but I'm afraid I cannot be here when you depart." Rose's happiness turned into a low, stinging sadness. "You see, I've been called to Washington on official business. I'm leaving in a few minutes, I just thought I'd like to say goodbye to you." A tear formed in one of her eyes. "I'll miss you father. I just wish I didn't have to go." She began to get choked up. He moved his hand over her shoulder, lending a comforting hand. "Come now Rose, will you walk with me inside?" He asked. Rose got up, and walked inside the house with her father. "Rose, I'm sorry." was all he said. He picked up his suitcase, and walked out the door. Tears were streaming down his daughter's cheeks. "Goodbye father."was all she could muster. Ruth, saw this, and came to comfort her daughter.

Rose buried her face into Ruth's chest, and sobbed. Ruth, embraced her daughter in a simple way. Normally, Ruth prohibited this type of behavior, but since she realized that Rose and Samuel were very close, she allowed it. Rose walked up to her room, and sat on her bed. She was burning hot, so she unbuttoned her blouse, just to cool down. She picked up Sarah, her doll, and silently hugged it, realizing that she couldn't bring it with her on the train to New York. "Rose? Rose?" a voice called from downstairs, it was Ruth, looking for her daughter. "I'm up here mother!" she called back. Ruth walked up the stairs, and found Rose sitting on her bed. "Why don't you take a nap to get your mind off of this matter?" Ruth suggested. "Yes, mother." Rose said. "Will you send Sadie in?" Rose asked. Ruth called Sadie, and the young maid came in. "Can you please help my daughter get ready for her nap? I'm going out for a few hours." Sadie complied with Ruth's request, and soon, Rose was lying in her bed, looking out at the street below. She saw Ruth walk down the sidewalk, before she closed her eyes.

Rose was awakened by the sound of thunder, and the clock said that it was 7:30. She'd been asleep for three hours. Ruth was sitting on the bed, with a tray in her hands. "Rose, you must be hungry, here eat this soup." Ruth pleaded. "I'm not hungry. I don't want any soup tonight." Ruth took the tray away, letting out a sigh. "I just wish you'd eat something; anything." Rose got out of her bed, and walked downstairs. She saw Ruth sitting at the dining room table, a sullen look upon her face. "Mother?" Rose called out. "I'm in here." Ruth quietly said. Ruth sat at the table, with a bowl of soup in front of her; she ate quietly. "Rose? May I ask you something?" Ruth said. "Yes, mother, you may." "Thank you, Rose. I wanted to ask you if you will miss me while you're gone. I know I'll miss you terribly. I will think of you every day and night. Will you?" She pleaded. "Yes, mother. I will miss you terribly, and I will write you nearly every day. I just wish father was here to see me off." Rose added back. They both ate in relative silence. At 8:30, Ruth and Sadie escorted Rose to her room. Ruth tucked her daughter in, and went into her own room, where she changed into a loose fitting dress, much like the kind she used to wear when she was younger. She let her hair down, remembering how wonderful it felt to not have her hair pinned and brushed. She brushed her hair, and put a ribbon into it to prevent any real tangling. She picked up her white corset. How pathetically long it was, the damn thing went nearly down to her knees. She pulled the laces out of the back, feeling their wear. She laughed. She threw it into the corner after the laces were pulled out, giggling to herself all the while.

With just three days left to be with her daughter, Ruth offered, at breakfast to take Rose out for the day. Rose loved the idea. Ruth laced Rose into her corset, albeit not too tightly. "Rose, I'd like you to get used to walking with the corset on. It will not be easy, but it will not be difficult, all you do is take in shallow breaths, like this." Ruth said as she showed her daughter how to breath. Rose wore the best dress of all she thought. The dress was white with yellow, and around her neck, was her locket. Ruth put the finishing touches on her daughter's hair, and they walked downstairs, side by side. Ruth saw a taxi coming down the street, and she signaled to it. When they got into the cab, Ruth told the driver to head down towards Sansom Street. A few minutes later, they were there. When they got out of the cab, Rose asked "Where are we mother?" Ruth replied "we are at the social center of Philadelphia, I will show you several people of Philadelphia high society that you should meet. You see, there is Mr. Coburn, but who is that with him? That isn't Alicia." Ruth remarked. "Why hello, Mrs. Bukater. I see you are enjoying the nice weather today." He said in a happy tone. "Who is this with you? Is this the infamous Miss Rose? My daughter, Allison will not stop talking about you. You really are a good friend of hers." "Thank you" Rose said as she curtsied. They continued onwards. By the time they headed home, Rose was happy and tired at the same time. "Rose, you behaved yourself today, you were a good girl." To which Rose replied; "I know I was, how come you doubted me?" " I never once doubted you, Rose." Ruth replied. That night, Rose had a nightmare. The nightmare involved her parents being killed in a terrible tragedy. "Oh god Mama NO!" Rose shouted into the night. Ruth heard this, and rushed into her daughter's room. She felt Rose, and found she was soaking wet; she wet herself. She woke Rose up. Rose saw that it was her mother, and she hugged her.

The next two days wore quickly on. On the day she was to go to New York, Ruth brought Rose to the train station. "Well Rose, this is it. I guess this is our hard goodbye. I will miss you terribly." Ruth said. A tear streamed down her cheek. She quickly brushed it away with her handkerchief. "You be good now, and write to me. I won't forget you. Don't think I will. Your father will also never forget you either. I want you to think of me every day. You have your locket, I want you to look at it every day." Ruth continued. Rose stepped onto the train, watching her mother in the crowd. Suddenly, she felt the train lurch forward; her new adventure had just begun. She continued to look out the window as the train moved out of the station, her mother gradually disappearing. Where she was sitting on the train, she knew nobody; everyone looked so foreign to her. She wondered if Allison was on the train, but she had to stick to her instructions: don't get out of your seat until New York. Three hours later, Rose saw the skyline of New York City. There, she would be met by her escort, a certain Mrs. Abrams. _"I wonder_ _what mother is doing now?" _She thought to herself. She arrived at the train station, and sure enough, Mrs. Abrams was there to greet her.


	2. The First Day

CHAPTER TWO

The first days

After her train ride, Rose was to be handed over to the custody of a certain Mrs. Abrams. Mrs. Abrams was the sort of woman, whom if cornered could indeed kill a person. "You must be Miss Bukater." she said. Rose gave a nod. "Well, are you or aren't you? Speak up!" She said. "Yes." "Yes what? Who are you? I NEED your name." "My name is Rose Dewitt-Bukater." Rose said impatiently. "Good, now we can get that Philadelphia slime out of you." She said. Rose looked for the exit, but could find none, she was with this beastly woman. "We need to wait here for the others, they are coming in soon. _"Really? I was sent all the way here for this? Mother, where are you? You should be coming to my rescue soon."_ Rose thought to herself; but alas, her mother did not show up. "Miss whatever your name is, lets go. The others are arriving." The nasty Mrs. Abrams shouted, as she hit Rose on the head with a rolled up newspaper. Rose got up, her corset was killing her. "Mrs Abrams? My corset is hurting me, can we slow down?" Rose asked. You'd think that this question was no big deal, but it made Mrs. Abrams smack Rose harder with the newspaper. "No! I don't care if your corset hurts you. What are you? A priss? God, you Philadelphians make me cringe." Mrs. Abrams lamented. Luckily, for Rose she would not have to deal with her for very much longer.

When they arrived at St. Catherine's school for girls, Rose and the other girls were herded into a small auditorium, where the headmistress, Mrs. Allen greeted them. "Good evening ladies, I can see that you have come a great distance. I would like to say this, if you think that you are going to have a free ride, then you should leave now, while you still have the chance." Mrs. Allen paused _"Oh god, I might as well get on the next train home."_ Rose thought to herself. "Furthermore, you will learn the rules and laws which I hope you will follow." She finished. After they had been spoken to in the auditorium, the group was led into the mess hall. "Here, is where you will eat your meals. You WILL NOT eat in your room." Out of the corner of her eye, Rose saw a familiar face, it was Allison. "Allison! Over here!" Rose called out. Allison sat down next to Rose in the mess hall. "How was the train?" Rose asked. "Oh, it was fine. I got to sit up in the front in the first class section. My mother went with me." She replied. "How was your train trip?" "Well Allison, I will tell you this. My train ride was horrible. No one talked to me the entire way, and Mrs. Abrams was evil. She called me slime." Rose pouted. Just as they began to eat, Rose heard another voice "You look just like me." someone said. "Okay, I look like you, your point?" She asked. "The name's Langdon, Emily Langdon to be exact. I see you are from Philadelphia, I've been there once. Nice place." she said.

Later that night, as they were escorted to their dorm, Rose said to Allison; "My god? Did you see those horrid braces in her mouth? That thing where she said she looked like me? What was that all about?" Rose jokingly said. "Rose, she actually DID look like you, only more sophisticated, and what was with that lace collar, it's like the ones your mother wears, I think she took some fashion tips from her too." Allison added. "I know, she had a brooch, just like her. I should have told her that it isn't 1886 anymore. I wonder what her mother is like." Rose countered. What they didn't know was that Emily could hear them, for she was entering the room. "Can I talk to you Rose?" Emily said. "Yes, you may, what would you like to talk to me about?" Emily sat on the bed. "Rose, what you said has really hurt my feelings. I would like to be your friend, because frankly, I don't have many. I don't wish to be here, much like you. You see, I know a lot about the Bukater family. Your mother is a friend of my mother. She looks different than me, she has brunette hair, and I have auburn hair." Emily continued " I would like to be your friend, because they always say that strength comes in numbers. I would also like to be Allison's friend. It seems that we could be this group of friends, and anyone could join us. We'll call ourselves the 'Lonely friends club.'" Emily said.

By 9:30, the girls had turned off their lights. The new environment was so strange and foreign to them, that it induced a nightmare in Allison(Allison's nightmare, was a night terror. When asked about the incident later, she had no memory of it.) It awoke the monitress, named Merle. Around 2 AM, a loud knocking was heard on the door. Soon the key was heard unlocking the door. "All right, who was it that made the damn scream? I WANT TO KNOW!" The monitress blurted out. Rose, looked over at Emily, but her self control got the better of her. Allison, realizing that their group may fall into trouble quickly spoke up. "It was me. I have a condition, I am sorry." She said. "Well, you know they make medication for that, and the local institution would love to study you. Typical Philadelphia slime." Allison blurted out "I'm from Byberry, not Philadelphia!" as she got up towards the monitress. "Mrs. Allen will deal with you tomorrow. Now, go to sleep. I do not wish to be disturbed anymore tonight." After the horrid monitress left the room, Allison burst into tears. "What is Mrs. Allen going to do to me?" She worried. "Oh Allison, it probably won't amount to much. Back in Piermont, my father taught me how to take your mind off of things. You'll probably get a tongue lashing and that is all." Emily soothed. "Thanks Emily, I can count on you from now on. I like you." She said, still rather choked up about being yelled at for her condition.

The next day, Rose, Allison, and Emily were summoned to Mrs. Allen's office. "I would like to know what happened last night. It seems that one of my best monitresses was summoned to your room. A certain Allison Coburn decided to question the integrity of our school by screaming at night." She said. "Mrs. Allen, maybe she had a nightmare?" Rose asked. "Child! You will not talk until I am done talking. Miss Langdon, you may leave. Miss Bukater and Miss Coburn, you may stay." The headmistress lead them into a smaller room. "Miss Bukater, I want you to witness this punishment, in order for it to be fair. I will cane your friend, Miss Coburn. I want you to remove her uniform. Do it!" Rose unbuttoned her friend's uniform. "The corset too. Can't have any padding." Rose unhooked Allison's corset and threw it to the floor. "Now, child, you will experience punishment from someone who is perfected in the art of caning." Mrs. Allen said, "Miss Bukater, you will count the blows." Rose dreaded this, especially since it was her best friend that she was going to help beat. The first blow landed on Allison's legs. Allison kept her composure. Fifteen blows later, and Allison was on the floor convulsing. "Stop!" Rose called. Mrs. Allen put the rod down. "Alright, Miss Bukater, I will leave you two alone in privacy. As soon as the headmistress left, Allison broke into a raging fit of tears. "Oh god, it hurts. Check to see if I'm bleeding." Allison pleaded. Sure enough, she was, but only in one place: her legs. "Oh god, why? Why have you wanted me to go through this?" She asked. Rose put Allison's corset back on, and Allison slipped her uniform over her head. Two minutes later, they were out of the office, where Emily was waiting for them.

"Emily, let's not bring up the subject to Allison, I want her to get rest, school doesn't officially start until Monday, so she'll have plenty of time to rest." Rose said, giving her friend an update to the situation. "Rose?" Allison called out. She had been laying on her bed, still writhing in pain. Rose began to write her first letter to her mother. A tear streamed down the pale cheek. Three pages later, and Rose was adding the finishing touches. She was sure to include Allison's punishment, which hopefully, her mother would mention to Mrs. Coburn. She told Ruth of Emily Langdon and the nasty monitress. She closed the letter with love, and sealed the envelope for delivery to Philadelphia. "Rose, don't let separation anxiety bring you down. My mother has always told me to think of something that makes you happy, true; I miss my mother terribly, and I'm going to visit her soon, as are you." Emily said. Rose, who caught the last bit of what Emily said, found herself stammering "What?" Emily then went on to explain that both Rose and her mother would be visiting the Langdon household on Tweed Boulevard. Suddenly, Rose was happy, very happy indeed...


	3. An unexpected Surprise

Chapter Three

An unexpected surprise

Three months into the term, Rose and her group of friends made considerable headway. Rose learned that her strongest subjects were geography and composition. How she loved the classes she took. Emily, on the other hand loved math and geology. Mrs. Hatch, one of the most popular teachers at the school was heard saying that she would like Ms. Bukater, Ms. Coburn, and Ms. Langdon in her class. Mrs. Allen was still up to her old tricks again, and luckily, the group had no more run ins with her. Things were going just fine. On The day before Thanksgiving, Rose was instructed to take the train, with Emily to Philadelphia, there Ruth would pick them up. The train trip back was slow, if not slower than the trip she took to New York; it didn't matter, because Emily and Rose talked the whole way. No Mrs. Abrams for them. When they arrived in Philadelphia, the weather was horrid. It rained and it didn't matter if you had an umbrella, you got soaked. "Over here!" Ruth called. The two girls ran over to Ruth. Suddenly, a voice was heard; "Rose, we'll have to get your trunk- Oh. Who is this?" The person turned. It was Samuel. "Rose! I'm so glad to see you!" he said, his arms outstretched. They embraced, for what seemed an eternity. Samuel turned to Emily. "How are you Emily? I haven't seen you for thirteen years. You have grown up." Emily blushed. "Let's go home." Ruth said, wanting to get out of the rain.

When they arrived home, Trudy, a new maid was there to greet them. "Trudy, this is Rose. Rose, this is Trudy. Trudy will be your maid." Ruth said. Ruth wanted a new friend for Rose. Trudy was eighteen herself, and could possibly give Rose advice. "Emily, this is where you will be sleeping." Ruth said, pointing out the guest room. "Mrs. Bukater, may I ask why am I staying here for the holiday?" Emily asked. "Well, Emily, your mother asked me to watch you for the holiday. She's out of the country at this time." She said. "Typical of mother." Emily added. Ruth gave Emily a slight look of disapproval. "You shouldn't say that about your mother." Ruth chided. Emily opened her trunk when she got into her room. "Someone's been through the trunk, it wasn't like this when I packed it back at school. Some of my underclothes are missing. Including my other corset. Oh darn, I guess I'll just have to wear this one, that mother designed for me." she said to herself. A knock was heard on the door. "I'm coming, just let me get another dress on." Emily shouted. She opened the door. It was Samuel. "Emily, it really is good to see you again. When you were separated from Rose at one month, I knew that I would meet you again." He said. Emily simply shrugged at his remarks. " We're not related, we just look similar, that is all. See, I have braces, she does not." Emily coolly said. Samuel left. _"That was odd."_ she thought to herself as she unpacked her trunk. She put a ribbon in her hair after she was done and went downstairs.

That evening's activities were relatively quiet. Rose and Emily sat on the couch laughing and talking. Ruth looked over at them and smiled. Suddenly, she and Samuel went into the other room. "Samuel, may I talk to you in private?" Ruth motioned. They walked upstairs, into Emily's room. "When are we going to tell Rose the truth?" Ruth asked with great urgency. "Ruth, I tried easing into the subject with her earlier as she was unpacking. She doesn't think they're related, only just friends. She said that it's because she wears braces and Rose doesn't." Samuel replied. "Look, Sam; tomorrow, we'll tell them the truth tomorrow, at dinner." Ruth quietly said. They both went downstairs, telling them both that it was time for bed. They complied with the order. In Rose's room, Ruth sat on the bed. "It's good to have you here, especially for Thanksgiving." She said as she kissed her daughter good night. In the guest room, Emily was getting used to her new surroundings. _"I just wish my mother were as nice as Rose's."_ she thought to herself. Emily drifted to sleep. The next morning, she awoke to hear voices downstairs. Ruth entered Emily's room. "You slept late." she said. Ruth helped Emily with her corset. "How tight does your mother lace you?" Ruth asked. "Extremely tight. Not so that I have a narrow waist, but enough to get the form. Mother likes it that way." Emily said, in reply. " Why do you make her out to be such a horrid person Emily? She loves you." Ruth had said. "Oh, it's nothing, Mrs. Bukater, she just has these trivial arguments with me, that's all." Emily assured. After they were finished, Ruth assisted Emily with her hair and clothes. "I like Rose, she is a good natured person." Emily said.

Rose was already downstairs when Emily entered the parlor. "Happy Thanksgiving Emily" Rose said. Emily returned the greeting. "My uncle Joe is here with Aunt Sue, father picked them up from the train station this morning. They are staying in hotel. Over there, is Bethany, my cousin, and there is my aunt Sarah." Rose pointed out her relatives to Emily. Already, Emily liked Rose's family. She had recognized Bethany from school, but did not realize that it was the same person. Soon, the smell of turkey was spreading throughout the house, making the guests hungry. Dinner was promptly served at 1:30. "Let me just say that I am glad you all are here. We have a new guest this year; my daughter, Emily B. Langdon. She has come from Piermont, New York to stay with us this holiday." Samuel had said. Emily slunk down in her chair, blushing. "This has been a long time in the making, Emily, do you wish to speak?" Ruth said. Emily began; "First, I'd like to say thank you to all of you. Second, I had this feeling like I've known you all my life. I don't know what else to say." Emily sat back down. The rest of dinner, was quiet, except for Bethany, who had to add something. "I didn't know this brat was my cousin." She said in a snotty tone. "Bethany! That is no way to talk to your cousin!" Aunt Sarah said in a hushed tone. After dinner, Rose and Emily went upstairs. "I cannot believe it's true." Emily said, becoming choked up. "My mother in New York, she's a fraud? Really?" Emily said, holding back tears. "No, Emily, she isn't; she's just your adoptive mother. She was given the duties of raising and nurturing you." Rose said in a comforting tone.

That Friday, Emily and Rose went to the park. Over by one of the benches, was Allison. "Hi Rose, how was your Thanksgiving? Mine was hell." Allison said. "Mine was fine, it turns out that Emily and I are sisters. We were separated after one month." Allison had an "I knew it" moment. "You looked so similar, that I knew that it had to be." Allison said. "Hey Emily, I challenge you to a race. The first one who reaches the statue, wins." Rose said, in a joking manner. "Ok, Rose, I'll take you up on it." Emily countered. Allison got both of them into position, over by the bench. "Ok, ready, set, GO!' She yelled. Both of them took off. Emily soon fell behind. "Ohh! I'm not used to running in these shoes, but at least I tried, didn't I?" Emily said, panting. Soon, it was to be dark, and the sky threatened rain. "Rose, I think we ought to be heading home, mother will be getting worried." Emily interjected. They ran home, out of breath when they got to the front porch, where Samuel and Ruth were sitting. "Looks like Emily won this round." Rose had said, nearly out of breath. Just then, raindrops were beginning to fall. "The rain must fall hard in New York too." Ruth asked. Suddenly, a bolt of lightning streaked through the sky, and it let out an extremely large clap of thunder. "We get storms like this in the Palisades, the thunder just echoes off the cliff walls. It's really amazing." Emily added.

On Saturday, both girls packed their trunks. After this brief respite, Rose didn't want to go back; "Oh, Mrs. Abrams will get us from the station again, won't she?" Rose cried out in horror. That night, which was to be their last, Ruth offered them her love, and good luck. Ruth also said that she would write Mrs. Langdon, renewing the offer that Rose could stay there if the Bukater's were not in town. Knowing Victoria, she would not have a problem with it. _"I wonder how she has held up these days? I know she had just divorced her husband, Jonathan."_ She thought to herself. At 8:30, both girls went to bed, only to be awakened early by Sadie, who got them dressed, and off to the train station with Ruth. "I'm so glad that you're coming with us mother." Rose said. "Show me this Mrs. Abrams you spoke about in your letter last September I'd like to see her." Ruth added. They boarded the train, and off they went. The train ride took a shorter amount of time, simply due to the fact that it was an express, and not the same train she had taken at the beginning of the term. An hour later, and they were all in New York City. "You must be the Bukater party? Are you? HELLO!" The nasty voice called out. "Yes, they are my girls, and they prefer to be treated like humans, and not animals. You will treat them nicely." Ruth said in a low, angry tone. Mrs. Abrams blanched, pathetically looking at Ruth's face. "Yes ma'am" was all she could say. It was the end of the Thanksgiving holiday, and Ruth said goodbye to the two girls. She kissed them both on the forehead, and turned to got to another train.


	4. Life at Saint Catherine's

Chapter Four

life at Saint Catherine's

By now, we've already met Rose, Emily, and Allison. This chapter will pry further into their daily lives at St. Catherine's Girls School. The first day back in classes after the Thanksgiving holiday, were pure misery. Woken up at 7 AM to dress, the girls were given fifteen minutes to complete the task. Some girls, especially Rose, mastered this, by leaving her corset pre laced, so that all she did was close the hook and eyes. Donning her blue school uniform and white pinafore, she marched down a corridor to join with the other girls. By 7:30, they were seated at a long table, and given a breakfast of oatmeal and fruit. Rose detested oatmeal, however she dare not say anything, because she would be sent to Mrs. Allen. At 8 AM, the girls lined up, and were herded into their respected grade class rooms. Rose, Allison, and Emily would line up in the 7th Grade line, headed by Mrs. Hutchins, or "The Hutch" because she was built like one, and no amount of whalebone could keep her slim. Homeroom, which began promptly at 8:10, was led by the aforementioned Mrs. Hutchins, was where the girls would receive their graded work, and hand in most assignments. Rose and Emily sat in the same row, whereas Allison was in the furthest.

After Homeroom, Rose and her group of friends had Geography. It went from 8:25 to 9:30. This was a subject that Rose excelled in. She had learned most of the countries from her father, and helped the other girls who struggled. A brief four minute passing period between classes brought Rose to Geometry. Geometry wasn't a subject she excelled in, but she knew enough to survive the class. To Emily however, Geometry was a foreign language. The Pythagorean theorem could have been a social craze for all she cared. Lunch was eaten at high noon, followed by brief excersise outside. The girls were instructed to don their school hats, which were made of straw. A navy blue overcoat was worn over their navy blue uniforms, which in turn were covered by a white pinafore. The pinafore served as a cover to protect the uniform from such ills as spilled ink or misplaced lunch. After their outside time, it was English Composition. Allison dreaded this class more than anything. One assignment had her in tears, because the teacher, Mrs. Rawlins was very peculiar about what to write, and the subject matter dealt with personal matters. The last class of the day, was Geology. The three of them loved the class, and the teacher thought highly of them as students.

After school, the girls were taken on their daily walk, rain or shine. Mrs. Roth led the way. She had this rule that prohibited talking and passing one another. "You're not little children anymore" was all she would say. Some thought she must have been lonely at home, and so she took her frustration out on the children. On these walks, Rose would pay closer attention to her fellow students. She detested a certain Millicent King, whom she regarded as a spoiled brat. "Rose, you'll never be as popular as I am, because my father owns half this city!" she would call out every day. Once Rose watched Millicent get her just desserts: She spilled her entire ink pot all over her pinafore, but it was too late: it stained her uniform as well. To Rose, watching the tears stream down Millicent's face as Mrs. Allen unpinned her pinafore and led her away were quite satisfying. There was another girl, one with horrific curls named Sophia Byram. Rose was neutral towards Sophia, however she sensed that all Sophia could do, was seek attention. She always saw her down in Mrs, Allen's office getting beaten. They would walk through Central Park, along The Reservoir. There seemed to always be a feeling of excitement when one walked by, it could be because of what happened to Millicent, or maybe that it was just a normal lake. More than likely it was what happened to Millicent. She tripped and fell in once. Every article of clothing was soaked, and her corset shrank. Oh well, tough luck for Ms. King!

Supper was always an interesting meal. Soup was often the dish of choice. Emily, whom had always hated soup, especially detested supper. At home, she was often given her say. Here however, it was "eat or go see Mrs. Allen." So, Emily ate her food. She missed home. Homesickness was usually looked down upon, but in private, it was rampant. "I just want to go home! I miss mother." was a familiar ring throughout the dormitory. Rose, especially hit hard with homesickness. She desperately wished to see her mother. She knew that Christmas would be soon, but it couldn't come soon enough. To Emily, Christmas would mean watching her mother go on a trip to England or France. Hopefully, this Christmas would be different. Bed was at 8:30 pm. The process for going to bed was appalling. First off, just to find a mirror to brush your hair in front of, was at a premium. Rose and her friends solved this problem: they each shared a single mirror. Since it didn't involve waiting, they would get to bed faster. It often didn't take long to get to sleep afterwards.


End file.
